The present invention relates to a vehicular ceiling assembling structure for assembling electric devices, such as lamps, and a molded ceiling onto the underside of a body ceiling of a vehicle body, a unit assembly used for the same, a frame member used for the same, and a vehicular ceiling assembling method.
A sun roof unit, various electric devices, such as a room lamp, a wire harness for those electric devices, and a molded ceiling are mounted on the underside of a body ceiling of a vehicle body. Those components are generally assembled onto the body ceiling in the following way.
A wire harness is laid on a body ceiling of a vehicle body. A sun roof unit is fastened to the body ceiling. The sun roof unit is connected to the wire harness by a connector. Then, a molded ceiling is laid under the sun roof unit and fastened to the body ceiling. A part of the wire harness is taken out through an opening used for assembling the lamps, which is formed in the molded ceiling. Then, the room lamp and the wire harness are connected by a connector. Thereafter, the room lamp is fastened to the body ceiling, through the opening.
The assembling work must be done in a narrow space within the vehicular body, and the worker must take an upward facing posture. Accordingly, the workability is considerably poor. In the work of connecting the wire harness and the electric devices by a connector, the defective assembling is easily caused. For example, insufficient fitting or coupling of the parts or components is likely to occur.
In a recent vehicular ceiling assembling method as disclosed in JP-A-5-131882, for example, to lessen the work in an upward facing position, the wire harness is laid in advance on the molded ceiling, whereby there is eliminated the work of laying the wire harness alone.
In this method, only the wire harness is assembled to the molded ceiling. In other words, no other electric devices than the wire harness are assembled to the molded ceiling. What we want to say is that the molded ceiling is exposed within the car cabin. Accordingly, its materials are limited to those fabric materials. Any of those materials is too small in strength to mount the electric devices to its product. Therefore, also where this method is used, such electric devices as room lamps must be assembled one by one in the upward facing position. For this reason, the vehicular ceiling assembling method is still unsatisfactory in achieving the improvement of the workability and the eliminating of the defective assembling.
Further, the present invention relates to a structure and method for installing a wiring harness along a car body.
In a case where a wiring harness is installed along the body of a vehicle, a wiring harness has hitherto usually been installed along a predetermined route and is secured on the body through use of custom-designed clamps. Alternatively, electric cables constituting a wire harness are usually secured on the body through use of a double-sided adhesive tape or an adhesive.
The conventional construction for installing a wiring harness requires custom-designed fixing members, such as clamps or double-sided tapes, in addition to the wiring harness. The weight of such fixing members increases the overall weight of the body of a vehicle and becomes a detriment to a reduction in the weight of the vehicle body.
Recently, a module has been built by means of mounting electrical components and a wiring harness therefor on a constituent component of the vehicle body beforehand. Modules are mounted on the body of a vehicle in an automobile assembly line, thereby improving ease of assembly. A module of this type encounters problems in reducing weight and costs.
Even in connection with the foregoing construction for installing a wiring harness, demand exists for reviewing the construction in order to reduce vehicle weight and cost.
Still further, the present invention relates to a vehicular ceiling assembling structure for assembling an illuminating device, such as a room lamp, and a molded ceiling onto the underside of a body ceiling of a vehicle body, and a vehicular ceiling assembling method.
Usually, lamps (illuminating devices), such as a room lamp and a map lamp, a wire harness for those lamps, and a molded ceiling are mounted on the underside of a body ceiling of a vehicle body. A structure for assembling those to the body ceiling is generally constructed as shown in FIG. 37.
A wire harness 361 is laid on the underside of a body ceiling 360, and a molded ceiling 362 is assembled onto the body ceiling 360 to cover the body ceiling 360 and the wire harness 361. A lamp 364 is located on the underside of the molded ceiling, and is electrically connected to the wire harness 361 through an opening 363 formed in the molded ceiling 362, and the lamp 364 is fastened to the body ceiling 360 by means of a bolt 365, through the opening 363.
The opening 363 formed in the molded ceiling 362 is much smaller than the lamp 364. When the lamp 364 is assembled from the under side of the molded ceiling, the lamp 364 is covered with the lamp 364, whereby an external appearance of the ceiling portion is kept good.
In the vehicular ceiling assembling structure described above, the lamp 364 and the like are assembled in the following way.
The wire harness 361 is first laid on the body ceiling 360 of the vehicle body, and the molded ceiling 362 is located under the wire harness 361, and those are assembled to the body ceiling 360. A part of the wire harness 361 is taken out through the opening 363 of the molded ceiling 362, and the lamp 364 and the wire harness 361 are connected together by a connector. And the lamp 364 is fastened to the body ceiling 360 by means of the bolt 365, through the opening 363.
In the conventional assembling structure as mentioned above, in assembling the lamp, the worker seeks the connector through the opening 363, and takes out the connector and the wire harness 361 as well through the opening 363, and connects them to the lamp 364. Further, he fixes the lamp 364 to the body ceiling 360 while pushing back the wire harness 361 to the upper side of the molded ceiling 362, through the opening 363. Therefore, the connection work is very complicated and troublesome.
Since the connector must be taken out through the opening 363 as described above, a take-out part is additionally provided on the wire harness 361. It frequently occurs that the take-out part bites the wire harness 361.
Further, the take-out part of the wire harness 361 vibrates during the running of the vehicle to possibly generate abnormal sound.
Accordingly, a first object of the present invention is to provide a vehicular ceiling assembling structure which improves the workability and can reliably prevent the occurrence of defective assembling. A second object of the present invention is to provide a unit assembly and a frame member, which are suitable for the vehicular ceiling assembling structure. A third object of the present invention is to a vehicular ceiling assembling method which improves the workability and can reliably prevent the occurrence of defective assembling.
To achieve the above object, there is provided a vehicular ceiling assembling structure for assembling electric devices, such as lamps, and a molded ceiling onto a body ceiling of a vehicle body, a frame member to which electric devices and a wire harness for the electric devices are assembled is mounted on the underside of the molded ceiling, and the molded ceiling is mounted on the body ceiling in a state that the molded ceiling is disposed under the frame member (aspect 1).
In the thus constructed assembling structure, in the vehicular ceiling assembling work, the electric devices and the wire harness for those electric devices are assembled to the frame member in a predetermined arrangement. As a result, the electric devices and the wire harness for those electric devices are assembled to the body ceiling by one assembling work by merely assembling the frame member to the body ceiling. Accordingly, the assembling work is considerably simple when comparing with the case where the electric devices and the wire harness are separately assembled to the body ceiling.
In the assembling structure, the frame member, when bulky, will affect the size of a room space. In this respect, it is preferable that the frame member is entirely shaped like a thin plate (aspect 2).
Where the vehicle body includes a sun roof, it is preferable that a sun roof unit including a sun roof and a drive mechanism for the sun roof is assembled to the frame member (aspect 3). By so doing, by the assembling of the frame member, the sun roof unit may additionally be assembled to the body ceiling. Accordingly, there is no need of the work of assembling the sun roof unit alone.
A vehicular ceiling assembling structure according to aspect 3, wherein the frame member includes a front portion extending in the widthwise direction of a vehicle body in the vicinity of the front pillars of the body ceiling, a pair of side portions extending to the rear side of the vehicle body from both ends of the front portion as viewed in the widthwise direction, and a center portion for coupling together the paired side portions at a mid position as viewed in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, wherein an opening for the sun roof is defined by the front portion, the side portions and the center portion, and a map lamp is assembled as the electric device to the front portion, and a room lamp is assembled as a electric device to the center portion (aspect 4). In the thus constructed frame member, the center portion is detachable from the side portions, and attachable to the side portions at a plurality of positions as viewed in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body (aspect 5). With such a construction, when a position of the room lamp of one type of vehicle is different form that of the room lamp of another type of the vehicle, the position of the center portion may be changed to another according to the lamp location. Accordingly, one frame member may be applied to different types of vehicles.
In the structure for laying the wire harness in the frame member, a wire harness consisting of a flat cable is laid as the wire harness on the frame member, internal conductors of the flat cable are exposed at positions where the electric devices are assembled, the electric devices are provided with plate-spring like terminals, and the terminals come in resilient contact with the internal conductors at the positions where the internal conductors of the flat cable are exposed (aspect 6).
The structure allows the electric device to electrically be connected to the wire harness by merely assembling the electric device to the frame member.
In another structure of laying the wire harness in the frame member, groove-like paths in which electric wires forming the wire harness are to be put are formed in the frame member, and the wire harness is laid on the frame member by putting the electric wires into the paths (aspect 7). In this structure, the wire harness may be fixed to the frame member by merely wiring the electric wires along and in the paths when the wire harness is laid onto the frame member.
In yet another structure of laying the wire harness in the frame member, groove-like paths in which electric wires forming the wire harness are to be put are formed in the frame member, press contacting blades to be inserted into the paths are provided in the electric devices, and the electric device is pressingly connected to the electric wires of the wire harness when the electric wires are laid along and in the paths in a state that the electric devices are assembled into the frame member (aspect 8).
In this structure, the wire harness is fixed to the frame member by merely wiring the electric wires along and in the paths when the wire harness is laid on the frame member, and further the wire harness may electrically be connected to the electric devices.
A unit assembly constructed according to the invention is a unit assembly to be assembled to a body ceiling of a vehicle body, wherein electric devices and a wire harness for the electric devices, which are to be assembled to the body ceiling, are assembled to a frame member which may be assembled to the body ceiling in a state that the electric devices and the wire harness are electrically connected to each other, and the electric devices and the wire harness are disposed at predetermined positions on the body ceiling by assembling the frame member to a predetermined position of the body ceiling (aspect 9).
Where such a unit assembly is used, in the vehicular ceiling assembling work, the electric devices and the wire harness for the same may be assembled to the body ceiling by merely assembling the unit assemble to the body ceiling. Accordingly, there is no need of the work of assembling the electric devices and the wire harness for the same separately.
In the unit assembly, a sun roof unit including a sun roof and a drive mechanism for the sun roof may be assembled as the electric device to the frame member (aspect 10). With this construction, when the unit member is assembled to the body ceiling, the sun roof unit is also assembled simultaneously. Accordingly, there is no need of the work of assembling the sun roof unit alone.
A frame member of the invention is defined such that in an assembling medium for assembling electric devices and a wire harness for the same, which are disposed on a body ceiling of a vehicle body, a frame member includes a front portion extending in the widthwise direction of a vehicle body in the vicinity of the front pillars of the body ceiling in a state that the front portion is assembled to the body ceiling, the front portion which is made of metal or resin, has a rigidity as a whole, and may be assembled to the body ceiling, a pair of side portions extending to the rear side of the vehicle body from both ends of the front portion as viewed in the widthwise direction, and a center portion for coupling together the paired side portions at a mid position as viewed in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body (aspect 11).
In the frame member, general electric devices such as a room lamp, a map lamp and a vanity lamp, and a wire harness for those devices may well be assembled. Further, an opening for the sun roof may also be secured. For this reason, the frame member is suitable for the vehicular ceiling assembling structures mentioned above and the unit assemblies also mentioned above.
The frame member, when bulky, will affect the size of the room space. Therefore, it is preferable that a frame member according to aspect 11, wherein the frame member is entirely shaped like a thin plate (aspect 12). Further, to cope with the different lamp positions in different types of vehicles, it is preferable that the center portion is detachable from the side portions, and attachable to the side portions at a plurality of positions as viewed in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body (aspect 13).
According to the invention, there is provided a vehicular ceiling assembling method for assembling electric devices, such as lamps, and a molded ceiling onto a body ceiling of a vehicle body, comprising the steps of: assembling electric devices and a wire harness for the electric devices to a frame member which may be assembled to the body ceiling, and electrically connecting the electric devices and the wire harness; assembling the frame member to the body ceiling, whereby the frame member and the body ceiling are assembled to the body ceiling; and disposing a molded ceiling under the frame member and assembling the molded ceiling to the body ceiling (aspect 14).
Accordingly, the electric devices and the wire harness for those electric devices are assembled to the body ceiling by one assembling work by merely assembling the frame member to the body ceiling. Therefore, the assembling work is considerably simple when comparing with the case where the electric devices and the wire harness are separately assembled to the body ceiling.
A sun roof unit including a sun roof and a drive mechanism for the sun roof may be assembled in advance to the unit member (aspect 15). If so done, there is no need of the work of assembling the sun roof unit alone to the body ceiling.
In the vehicular ceiling assembling method, the electric devices may be assembled to the underside of the frame member, whereby press contacting blades provided on the electric devices are passed through the frame member while being directed upward, and in laying the wire harness onto the frame member, electric wires forming the wire harness are pressingly connected to the press contacting blades (aspect 16). If so done, the laying of the wire harness to the frame member and the electrical connection of the electric devices and the wire harness may be carried out concurrently.
Further, the present invention has been conceived in view of the foregoing problem and is aimed at providing a construction and method of installing a wiring harness which enables reductions in the weight of a vehicle body and costs.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a construction for installing a wiring harness, along a predetermined route, on an area of a vehicle which is made of resin and on which the wiring harness is to be installed, comprising:
bare wires used as electrical wires for constituting the wiring harness, wherein the area is melt and welded to the electrical wires, as a result of which the wiring harness is fixed on the body of the vehicle (aspect 17).
Since the electrical wires constituting the wiring harness are formed from conductors, and the wiring harness is directly fixed to the area on which the wiring harness is to be installed, by means of welding. Hence, the wiring harness according to the present invention is advantageous over a wiring harness which is formed from coated electrical wires and is fixed through use of custom-designed clamps, in terms of reductions in the weight of the body of a vehicle and costs.
Further, the present invention provides a construction for installing a wiring harness, along a predetermined route, on an area of a vehicle which is made of resin and on which the wiring harness is to be installed, comprising:
coated electrical wires used as electrical wires for constituting the wiring harness, wherein a sheath of the electrical wires is removed at specific positions of the electrical wires such that internal conductors are exposed, and the area is melt such that the portions of the electrical wires where exposed portions of the internal conductors are welded to the area, thus fixing the wiring harness to the body of the vehicle (aspect 18).
Since the wiring harness is fixed directly to the area where the wiring harness is to be installed, by means of welding, the wiring harness according to the present invention is advantageous over a wiring harness which is formed from coated electrical wires and is fixed through use of custom-designed clamps, in terms of reductions in the weight of the body of a vehicle and costs.
Preferably, in a case where a vehicle is assembled by means of installing a wiring harness on constituent elements of the body of a vehicle beforehand and mounting the constituent elements on the body, the portion of the constituent elements of the body made of resin may be selected as the area on which the wiring harness is to be mounted. The wiring harness may be installed on the thus-selected area.
More specifically, the present invention is effective in a case where a frame member partially formed from resin is mounted on a roof of the body as the constituent elements, where electrical components such as a courtesy lamp are mounted on the frame member, and where the wiring harness for use with the electrical components is installed as the wiring harness (aspect 20). Such a construction for installing a roof of a vehicle encounters problems in reducing the weight of a frame member (while electrical components are mounted on the frame member). Accordingly, the construction for installing a wiring harness according to the present invention is effective for use with a construction for assembling the roof of a vehicle.
The present invention provides a method of installing a wiring harness, along a predetermined route, on an area of the body of a vehicle made of resin, the method comprising the steps of:
installing electrical wires constituting the wiring harness on the area along the predetermined route; and
pressing the electrical wires against the area during the installment of the electrical wires, while an electric current is applied to the electrical wires so as to generate heat, thereby welding the electrical wires to the area (aspect 21).
Preferably, bare wires may be used as the electrical wires for constituting the wiring harness, and the electrical wires may be welded to the area on which the wiring harness is to be mounted, by means of pressing the electrical wires against the area while an electric current is supplied to the electrical wires (aspect 22). Preferably, coated electrical wires may be used as electrical wires for constituting the wiring harness; a sheath of the electrical wires may be removed at specific positions of the electrical wires such that internal conductors are exposed; and the electrical wires may be welded to the area on which the wiring harness is to be mounted, by means of pressing the exposed portions of internal conductors against the area while an electric current is supplied to the electrical wires (aspect 23).
Under the method according to the present invention, electrical wires can be fixed to the area on which the wiring harness is to be installed without involvement of efforts, by means of supplying an electric current to the electrical wires during installment of the electrical wires (aspect 24). Therefore, ease of an operation for installing a wiring harness can be improved. After installment of the wiring harness, there can be obtained the construction for installing a wiring harness according to the present invention. Further, according to the foregoing method, there can be obtained the construction for installing a wiring harness according to the present invention. Therefore, the construction yields a working-operation and advantages.
Preferably, the electrical wires are pressed against the area by means of a press member formed from conductive material, and either the electrical wires or the press member are (is) connected to a positive electrode of a supply source, and the counterpart of the electrical wires or the press member is connected to a negative electrode of the supply source, so that an electric current flows to the electrical wires only when the electrical wires are pressed by the press member.
As a result, interruption of supply of an electric current can be linked to an operation for pressing electrical wires. Therefore, the labor required for interrupting supply of an electric current is obviated, thus improving the ease of an operation for installing a wiring harness.
Preferably, the method is applied to a case where there is assembled a vehicle by means of installing a wiring harness on constituent elements of the body of a vehicle beforehand and mounting the constituent elements on the body, the portion of the constituent elements of the body made of resin may be selected as the area on which the wiring harness is to be mounted, and the wiring harness may be installed on the selected area (aspect 25).
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicular ceiling assembling structure and a vehicular ceiling assembling method which is capable of securing a good external appearance of the ceiling portion, improving the workability in assembling the vehicle ceiling, and preventing defective assembling and generation of abnormal sound when the vehicle runs.
To achieve the above object, there is provided a vehicular ceiling assembling structure in which an illuminating device and a molded ceiling are assembled onto the underside of a body ceiling of a vehicle body and the illuminating device faces the under side of the molded ceiling through an opening of each illuminating device, the opening of the molded ceiling is slightly smaller than a specific portion of the illuminating device, and the circumferential edge of the opening is fit to a groove formed in and along the circumference of the specific portion of the illuminating device (aspect 26).
In the vehicular ceiling assembling structure thus constructed, in the vehicular ceiling assembling work, the illuminating device is assembled to the body ceiling in advance, and the circumferential edge of the opening is fit to the groove of the illuminating device while fitting the take-out part of the illuminating device into the opening of the molded ceiling. When so done, the circumferential edge of the opening of the molded ceiling is hidden within the groove. Accordingly, the outer appearance of the ceiling portion is kept good although the illuminating device is assembled before the molded ceiling is assembled. In a case where the illuminating device comprises a main body to be assembled to the body ceiling and a cover coupled to the lower end of the main body, the groove is formed in the cover (aspect 27).
According to another aspect, there is provided a vehicular ceiling assembling structure in which an illuminating device and a molded ceiling are assembled onto the underside of a body ceiling of a vehicle body, wherein the illuminating device comprises a main body to be assembled to the body ceiling and a cover that may be coupled to the lower end of the main body, the cover is coupled to the main body through an opening formed in the molded ceiling from the under side of the molded ceiling, and the cover is larger than the opening of the molded ceiling (aspect 28).
In the vehicular ceiling assembling structure thus constructed, in the vehicular ceiling assembling work, the illuminating device is assembled to the body ceiling in advance, and the cover is coupled to the main body through the opening formed in the molded ceiling. By so doing, the circumferential edge of the opening of the molded ceiling is covered with the cover. Accordingly, the outer appearance of the ceiling portion is kept good although the illuminating device is assembled before the molded ceiling is assembled.
Where a size relation of the opening of the molded ceiling relative to the main body requires such a construction that the main body of the illuminating device is smaller than the opening of the molded ceiling, the lower end of the illuminating device is coupled to the cover while facing the inside of the opening (aspect 29). Where the main body of the illuminating device is smaller than the opening of the molded ceiling, the cover is coupled to the main body through the opening of the molded ceiling, whereby the circumferential edge of the opening of the molded ceiling is sandwiched between the main body and the cover (aspect 30).
According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a vehicular ceiling assembling method for assembling an illuminating device and a molded ceiling onto the underside of a body ceiling of a vehicle body, wherein the illuminating device and a wire harness for the illuminating device are assembled onto the body ceiling, thereby electrically connecting the illuminating device to the wire harness, thereafter the molded ceiling is located under the assembled ones, and a specific portion of the illuminating device is fit to an opening formed in the molded ceiling, whereby the specific portion faces the under side of the molded ceiling, and the opening of the molded ceiling is fit into a groove formed in and along the circumference of the specific portion of the illuminating device (aspect 31).
In this method, the assembling of the illuminating device and the electrical connection of the illuminating device to the wire harness are performed before the assembling of the molded ceiling. Therefore, the assembling work of the illuminating device is more easy and accurate when comparing with the assembling where the illuminating device is assembled after the molded ceiling is assembled.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a vehicular ceiling assembling method for assembling an illuminating device and a molded ceiling onto the underside of a body ceiling of a vehicle body, wherein a main body of the illuminating device and a wire harness for the illuminating device are assembled onto the body ceiling, thereby electrically connecting the illuminating device to the wire harness, thereafter the molded ceiling is located under the assembled ones, and assembled onto the body ceiling, and a cover larger than the opening is coupled to the main body from the under side of the molded ceiling, through an opening formed in the molded ceiling (aspect 32).
In this method, the assembling of the main body of the illuminating device and the electrical connection of the main body to the wire harness are performed before the assembling of the molded ceiling. Therefore, the assembling work of the illuminating device is more easy and accurate when comparing with the assembling method where the illuminating device is assembled after the molded ceiling is assembled.